Hello!
I have received an early acceptance(likely) from both Lehigh and Cornell. My intended major is engineering (undecided @ Cornell, mechanical @ Lehigh) and am having a really tough time when it comparing these two schools.
Does anyone have any input on these two schools and how they compare in academics, job placement, etc. Both have beautiful campuses so that isn’t so much a concern as what the programs have to offer.
Thanks in advance!
Congratulations! You have two really great options! I know nothing about Cornell. But, my son was in the School of Engineering at Lehigh. He found it very easy to get research positions with professors. He was able to stay at Lehigh the summer of his Sophomore year to do his own a small project that really helped him get his summer internship after his Junior year. I would read about the professors in Mechanical Engineering from both schools and see which professors are going research that interests you. The quality of your job placement depends on what you do with the opportunities you make for yourself while you are in the school. But, given you received likely letters from TWO school you are a student that already shows great promise. I really think you couldn’t go wrong with either school. I would go visit them both and really see where you feel you most comfortable. The happier you are the better your performance with be! Best of luck to you! Please let us know what you decide to do!
Well let’s look at the obvious–Cornell is ivy League and Lehigh is not, so the networking advantages that go with an Ivy come into play. That said, Lehigh is an excellent school for engineering and also has a very strong alumni network. Also Lehigh is a smaller school so your classes would be smaller. Cornell practices grade deflation within the engineering major. Very stressful and I feel unnecessary. So while Cornell is the more prestigious school, I really feel I would encourage my own son to strongly consider Lehigh. You can’t lose either way as they are both great schools!
Sorry to hop onto your thread, but what exactly makes Lehigh’s Engineering so strong? Having been to many Lehigh info sessions, clearly something in their engineering department attracted my attention. Looking back at the ranking though, Lehigh barely stands in the top 50 undergraduate for ENG. This is what’s making me decide whether Lehigh would be the better choice for me. Sigh this college process was not as fun as I once anticipated.
ps. My alternate choice would be a top 10 engineering school (UIUC/Purdue).
Purdue has an excellent engineering program! I myself am not a Lehigh grad, but I work with a number of Lehigh grads who are very good engineers. And I have a couple of friends whose kids graduated from Lehigh in the last two years and both landed jobs before they graduated. They just have a very good reputation in the field, at least in the Northeast region.
the people around you should factor in also - visit them both and see what the vibe feels like to you
prestige does matter but also how you are going to live the next years should matter also - and both have solid alum networks and high job placements (especially in the east)
and check out class sizes too - professor involvement - TAs etc